Perfect Form, Perfectly Spare Chinese Stoneware Ear Cup, c. 600 AD secretary though perhaps a French teacher

though perhaps a French teacher

sacrificed to the goddess

though it almost appears as if that oval frame is part of the image itself

adding another dimension

there is a bit of regulating to the brown glaze around the lip and some crazing to the cream glaze

Perfect Form, Perfectly Spare Chinese Stoneware Ear Cup, c. 600 AD secretary though perhaps a French teacherTo my eye the most perfectly minimal, perfectly proportioned shallow vessel, just what it needs to be and not a thing more, this is a very old Chinese "ear cup", c 600 AD, which I purchased from a collector, dealer and friend in Maine. Chinese ear cups, or 'erbei' in Chinese, are an ancient form, functional as vessels for drinking, but more broadly embodying Chinese philosophy, aesthetics, and social customs and exquisite craftsmanship. And indeed,